This invention relates to an image presentation system for presenting image information of a still image input from an image input unit such as a scanner or a camera, a moving image prepared in a computer, and the like.
In a related art, for example, the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 5-290143 describes an image information presentation system that can easily execute a page move without any error at the presentation execution time.
More particularly, the image information presentation system comprises information storage means for storing image information comprising full-size images of image size displayed at the presentation execution time and listed images reduced to the image size displayed at the image retrieval time and scenario information describing image names displayed at the presentation execution time and the display order, image display means for displaying the image information, a central control unit for displaying the image information in order according to the scenario information, and image retrieval means for starting a function for listing the listed images at any point in time while the image information is being presented and continuing the scenario starting at any desired listed image when the listed image is selected from among the listed images.
However, not only still images, but also moving images are used as image information used for presentation. In the above-described related art, reduced and listed images, which will be hereinafter referred to as thumbnails, are all displayed as still images. That is, as image information of a moving image, the still image representing the moving image and other still images are displayed side by side and when the still image representing the moving image is selected, the screen is changed to a full-size screen and the moving image is displayed.
Therefore, whether an image is a moving or still image cannot be determined at a glance and the operation of checking whether or not each image is a moving image is required. Since the moving image cannot directly be viewed, it cannot be compared with image information of other still images, etc., on display for selection and selection work consumes time.
In another related art, for example, the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 8-180037 describes a document preparation support system for even the user who is unfamiliar with presentation or document preparation to prepare a high-quality document smoothly.
More particularly, in parallel with placement of parts such as titles, shape change, and text pattern change processing executed by the user, the document preparation support system uses the visual comfort degree of the layout concerning the parts, the shapes, and the text pattern, namely, a predetermined evaluation criterion for the layout of the parts in the prepared document and the like and calculates an evaluation value quantitatively representing the difference from the ideal state defined on the evaluation criterion or the same degree as the ideal state, then informs the user of the evaluation value by an image or voice.
The user can use the provided evaluation result as one guideline to evaluate the beauty and visibility of the balance, etc., of placement, shapes, and sizes of the text, graphs, patterns, etc., of the prepared document.
Even the user who is unfamiliar with presentation or document preparation can place the title, text, graphs, photos, etc., in balance and prepare a high-quality document smoothly.
However, to prepare the presentation document, particularly to read images, work of specifying one image at a time and reading it becomes necessary. As the images to be read increase, time and effort are spent on the work and it takes time in editing; it is very inconvenient.
Since pages are related to each other in a hierarchical structure, in an edit mode capable of displaying only one page at a time, the operator specifies the next image one page at a time and executes editing while imaging the whole concatenation of the pages in his or her head, thus a lot of time and labor is spent on the edit work.